The Gates of Heaven

Last updated

The Gates of Heaven
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Written byVittorio De Sica
Piero Bargellini
Diego Fabbri
Adolfo Franci
Carlo Musso
Enrico Ribulsi
Cesare Zavattini
Produced byCorrado Conti di Senigallia
Salvo D'Angelo
Starring Marina Berti
Cinematography Aldo Tonti
Edited by Mario Bonotti
Music by Enzo Masetti
Production
companies
Orbis Film
Centro Cattolico Cinematografico
Distributed by Lux Film
Release date
  • 15 February 1945 (1945-02-15)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian

The Gates of Heaven (Italian : La porta del cielo) is a 1945 Italian drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica.

Contents

The film was made during the German occupation of Rome, with support from the Vatican. This and another film The Ten Commandments allowed a number of actors, under pressure to go north and work in Venice for the film industry of Mussolini's puppet Italian Social Republic, to remain in Rome. [1]

The film's sets were designed by Salvo D'Angelo who also worked as co-producer. Vittorio de Sica hired approximately 300 extras, who were Jewish or simply being persecuted by the Nazi regime, because of their physical oddity. To avoid their deportation and later execution, he prolonged the shooting of the film as long as he could, awaiting the arrival of the allied armies. [2]

The film won the OCIC Special Award at the 53rd Venice International Film Festival in 1996 for efforts to restore the film. [3] [4]

Plot

This is the story of a train full of sick and deformed pilgrims on their way to seek miracles at the shrine of Our Lady of Loreto, near the city of Ancona in eastern Italy. [2]

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vittorio De Sica</span> Italian film director and actor (1901–1974)

Vittorio De Sica was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian neorealism</span> Italian film movement

Italian neorealism, also known as the Golden Age, was a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They primarily address the difficult economic and moral conditions of post-World War II Italy, representing changes in the Italian psyche and conditions of everyday life, including poverty, oppression, injustice and desperation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Checchi</span> Italian actor

Andrea Checchi was a prolific Italian film actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amedeo Nazzari</span> Italian actor (1907–1979)

Amedeo Nazzari was an Italian actor. Nazzari was one of the leading figures of Italian classic cinema, often considered a local variant of the Australian–American star Errol Flynn. Although he emerged as a star during the Fascist era, Nazzari's popularity continued well into the post-war years.

<i>Invisible Chains</i> (film) 1942 film

Invisible Chains is a 1942 Italian drama film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Alida Valli, Carlo Ninchi and Giuditta Rissone. It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Ottavio Scotti and Mario Rappini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian De Sica</span> Italian actor and director

Christian De Sica is an Italian actor and film director.

<i>A Garibaldian in the Convent</i> 1942 film

A Garibaldian in the Convent is a 1942 Italian historical comedy drama romantic film directed by Vittorio De Sica and starring Leonardo Cortese, María Mercader and Carla Del Poggio. It is considered to be the work with which De Sica concludes the series of light comedies largely set in colleges and institutions for young girls and period costumes to enter into films of more contemporary and popular settings that will result in post-war neorealistic works. It was screened in November 1991 as a part of a retrospective of De Sica's films at the Museum of Modern Art. It was shot at the Palatino Studios in Rome. The film's sets were designed by the art director Veniero Colasanti.

<i>The Assassination of Matteotti</i> 1973 Italian film

The Assassination of Matteotti is a 1973 Italian historical drama film directed by Florestano Vancini. The film tells the events that led to the tragic end of Giacomo Matteotti and to the establishment of the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini in Italy. It was awarded with the Special Jury Prize at the 8th Moscow International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">100 film italiani da salvare</span> List of the best 100 Italian films

The list of the 100 Italian films to be saved was created with the aim to report "100 films that have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978". Film preservation, or film restoration, describes a series of ongoing efforts among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images they contain. In the widest sense, preservation assures that a movie will continue to exist in as close to its original form as possible.

<i>Department Store</i> (1939 film) 1939 film

Department Store is a 1939 Italian "white-telephones" comedy film directed by Mario Camerini.

Dora Nelson is a 1939 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Soldati and starring Assia Noris, Carlo Ninchi and Luigi Cimara. It is a remake of the 1935 French film of the same title, which was based on a play by Louis Verneuil. The film was shot at Cinecittà in Rome, with several real employees of the studio appearing as themselves. It belongs to the movies of the calligrafismo style.

<i>The Ferocious Saladin</i> 1937 film

The Ferocious Saladin is a 1937 Italian "white-telephones" comedy film directed by Mario Bonnard and starring Angelo Musco, Alida Valli and Lino Carenzio. The film was made at Cinecittà in Rome. On 28 April 1937, Benito Mussolini visited the newly completed studio. Along with the historical epic Scipio Africanus, this was one of the films he saw being made. The film, a vehicle for the Sicilian comedian Angelo Musco, is about an unsuccessful old comedian forced to find another work. While he is selling cakes in a theatre, the audience discover the highly sought-after collectible cards of "The Ferocious Saladin". Inspired by the event, the comedian sets up a successful comic piece on stage.

<i>The Old Guard</i> (1934 film) 1934 film by Alessandro Blasetti

The Old Guard is a 1934 Italian drama film directed by Alessandro Blasetti and starring Gianfranco Giachetti, Mino Doro, and Franco Brambilla. It was one of several pro-Fascist films made by Blasetti during the era. The film is set in a small Italian town in 1922, where a local group of Fascist blackshirts battle against rival socialists who have called a strike at the hospital. Mario, the young son of Doctor Cardini, is killed in the fighting. The film ends with the March on Rome that brought Benito Mussolini to power.

Naples of Olden Times is a 1938 Italian musical comedy film directed by Amleto Palermi and starring Vittorio De Sica, Emma Gramatica and Elisa Cegani. It was made at Cinecittà in Rome.

<i>It Always Ends That Way</i> 1939 film

It Always Ends That Way is a 1939 Italian musical comedy film directed by Enrique Susini and starring Vittorio De Sica, Nedda Francy and Roberto Rey. The film was based on a novel by Robert Dieudonné. It was shot at the Cinecittà studios in Rome with sets designed by Salvo D'Angelo.

Departure is a 1938 Italian comedy film directed by Amleto Palermi and starring Vittorio De Sica, María Denis and Giovanni Barrella. It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvo D'Angelo</span> Italian film producer

Salvo D'Angelo was an Italian film producer. He also worked as an art director and production designer.

<i>The Ten Commandments</i> (1945 film) 1945 film

The Ten Commandments is a 1945 Italian drama film directed by Giorgio Walter Chili. It features an ensemble of Italian actors in episodes based on the Ten Commandments.

<i>The Sinner</i> (1940 film) 1940 Italian film

The Sinner is a 1940 Italian drama film directed by Amleto Palermi and starring Paola Barbara, Vittorio De Sica, and Fosco Giachetti.

<i>The Taming of the Shrew</i> (1942 film) 1942 film

The Taming of the Shrew is a 1942 Italian comedy film directed by Ferdinando Maria Poggioli and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Lilia Silvi and Lauro Gazzolo. It is based on William Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew, with the setting updated to modern-day Rome.

References

  1. Gundle p.262
  2. 1 2 "La puerta del cielo (1945)" . Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  3. "La porta del cielo". labiennale. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  4. "Awards for La porta del cielo". imdb.com. Retrieved 7 September 2010.

Bibliography